Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Not lying down

“As former trustees of Kids Company, we are jointly responding to unconfirmed reports that the Insolvency Service may or may not recommend that proceedings are taken to disqualify us as company directors.

“As non-executive trustees we were responsible for overseeing the charity. At all times we had the interests of the children and young people in our care as our primary concern. We freely gave significant amounts of our personal time and money to that end. We took professional advice on legal and financial matters. In order to satisfy our funders, it was necessary to undergo regular, stringent scrutiny and validation by external independent parties, including auditors.

“It is deeply regrettable that the charity was forced to close following the instigation of a Metropolitan Police investigation of allegations that subsequently were found to be unfounded. [Lovely - Ed]

“There is no suggestion that we acted dishonestly or in bad faith. As far as we are aware, there has never been a case where trustees of a charity have been disqualified by a court in circumstances such as these.

“We acted diligently throughout, and if any proceedings are brought will defend ourselves vigorously. What happens to us could have serious implications for the thousands of other trustees who want to do charitable work in this country.”